First Trip to Africa October 11 2011

Max,

I'm traveling to Sub-Saharan Africa
for the first time this December. My buddies and I are planning on traveling through a few
different countries there, and I don't want to seem like a wuss to them, but I'm pretty
worried about safety. The only other place I've traveled outside the U.S. was Europe. What
precautions should I take when traveling in third world countries?

-Jus' trying to stay alive

Alive,

Here's the Ask Max list:

Make
contingency plans. There is nothing worse that being helpless in a
foreign country. This means thinking through the worst scenarios and
having a game plan. Do you have a place to sleep if your original plans
fall through? How are you going to get around the city? What do you do
when you inevitably get sick? What if you get robbed and lose everything?
Some of these things won’t happen. Many of them will.

Be
selfish. As a tourist, people are going to be trying to take advantage
of you at every turn. Your greatest mistake will be trusting people who
have no stake in living up to their obligations to you. Be a hardass in
defense of your own interests, but stay as polite as possible. Don’t worry
about other people’s feelings too much. I can guarantee they don’t worry
about yours.

Street
Sense. Walk with your head on a swivel. People will be approaching you
to sell you things, to beg, and to rob you. Stay in populated areas, and
be wary of friendly strangers.

Step
out of your comfort zone. Safety concerns are real, but if you spend
all day cooped up in your room and don’t talk to anyone, it defeats the
purpose of being there. Everything about life is risky. Don’t be afraid to
live. You only get to do it once.